Dean

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Dean is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name209K records spelled Dean4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Philippines, Colombia, Argentina

  Languages: Spanish, Italian, Romanian

  Also written Dēãń

• a separate given name106K records spelled Dean6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India

  Also written De-An, De'An, Deàn, Deán, Déan

• Portuguese given name45K records spelled Dean5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, United Kingdom, Portugal

  Also written Dëãñ, Déan, Deán, Dêan

• Croatian given name25K records spelled Dean38 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Croatia, United States, Bulgaria, North Macedonia

  Languages: Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian

  Also written Деан, Din, Deen, Дин, Deân

• Indonesian given name13K records spelled Dean4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Dean, De-An

86 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Dean is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Latin religious official; Old English, from the valley.

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• In English, A senior official in a college or university, who may be in charge of a division or faculty (for example, the dean of science) or have some other advisory or disciplinary function (for example, the dean of students).

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Italian, forma reduzida de Degan

  as a name·Dicionário dos sobrenomes italianos

• In English, Latin: soldier

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• El que vive en el valle

  as a name·25,000 nombres de bebé. La mejor guía para escoger el nombre adecuado

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Dean Achesonb. 1893USAmerican statesman and lawyer (1893-1971)
• Dean Jaggerb. 1903USAmerican actor (1903-1991)
• Dean Ruskb. 1909USUnited States Secretary of State (1909-1994)
• Dean Martinb. 1917USAmerican singer, actor, comedian and film producer (1917–1995)
• Edgar Mitchellb. 1930USnot in their usual nameAmerican astronaut (1930-2016)
• Roy Bluntb. 1950USnot in their usual nameAmerican politician (born 1950)
• Dean Barrowb. 1951BZPrime Minister of Belize from 2008 to 2020
• Jon Moxleyb. 1985USnot in their usual nameAmerican professional wrestler and actor
• Elizabeth Lailb. 1992USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress (born 1992)
• Dean-Charles Chapmanb. 1997GBEnglish actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,237 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Dean?

We estimate roughly 138 thousand people bear Dean (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Dean have the most bearers?

Dean is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled dean.

How common is Dean compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Dean is the 160th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Dean a male or female name?

Dean is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Dean mean?

Recorded meaning: from Dean/Dene, a valley or place-name; first attested Ralph de Dene 1086 DB (Sussex); also from dean, first attested Dauid Decanus 1160 P (Norfolk)